AMN / WEB DESK
Despite Rohit Sharma’s valiant effort India lost second ODI to Bangladesh at the jam-packed Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Mirpur in Dhaka
Even through the injury, Rohit who came to bat as No. 9 batter, struck an unbeaten 28 ball-51 not out, which almost sealed the deal for India. He hit three fours and five sixes in his innings. As India needed 40 runs from the last two overs with just one wicket at hand, Rohit went on bang and almost won the match single-handedly but Mustafizur Rahman who delivered the last over, held his nerve to deny Rohit and India the victory.
But the Cricket Stadium erupted with jubilant chants of ‘Bangladesh Bangladesh’ as Rohit Sharma failed to score the six on the last ball that all the Indian fans gathered in the stadium were praying for to give India a victory.
No doubt, the match was a thriller till the last ball was over. Fans on both sides held their breath and prayed for the favourable outcome for their loved side, but finally Bangladesh won the match and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series against India as it lost by 5 runs scoring 266/9 against Bagladesh’s score of 271/7 in 50 overs.
India lost the match, but it did with dignity. It put up a valiant fight till the last ball in a match which looked lost to India in the 41st over of its innings with its score at 193/6. The required run rate had gone up to 8.57 per over by this time. Rohit Sharma salvaged India’s sinking pride with fireworks in the dying overs of the match scoring a firecracker 51 runs in 28 balls. Earlier, Shreyas Iyer gave a superb performance scoring 82 runs before being caught by Afif off the bowling of Mehidy Hasan Miraz . Axar Patel also pitched in with a brilliant 56 runs adding 107 runs for the fifth wicket with Iyer for India.
In a thrilling match which saw many turns and twists in both the innings, Bangladesh once again showed its tenacity and depth of batting and bowling winning the second ODI and also the 3-match series against India.
Batting first, Bangladesh was tottering at 69 for 6 after Mustafizur and Afif were out off two successive balls of Washington offering him a chance to score a hatrick. Bangladesh stared at a bleak total after 20 overs with the scorecard reading 71/6. Washington Sundar by then had claimed 3 wickets for 19 runs.
But the magic happened as Mahmudullah and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (100 off 83 bealls, unbeaten) did a sheet anchor innings for Bangladesh. The pair displayed excellent batting with controlled aggression while keeping the wicket intact bringing in stability after Bangladesh were 69/6 at the end of the 19th over of the match. Together they helped Bangladesh score a good score of 271 in 50 overs. The seventh wicket partnership between Mahmudullah and Miraz contributed 148 to Bangladesh’s score of 271.